Nine of 12 National Park System Advisory Board members quit in protest

An Interior Department official called the resignation of 10 members of the National Park Service Advisory Board a "hollow and dishonest political stunt" and vowed they would be soon replaced by more dedicated appointees.

The mass resignation from three quarters of the board was cited as a result of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's unwillingness to meet with them.

You can read Knowles complete letter below (via The Washington Post). Zinke "appears to have no interest in continuing the agenda of science, the effect of climate change, pursuing the protection of the ecosystem".

"The president still hasn't nominated a director for the National Park Service, and Secretary Zinke has proposed tripling entrance fees at our most popular national parks", Cantwell said.

A request for comment has not been returned by the Interior Department.

Two of the Bureau of Land Management's 38 resource advisory councils (RACs) - Rocky Mountain and Southwest Colorado - had to postpone meetings scheduled for Thursday because their charters were out of date.

After suspending the RACs past year, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke created the Made in America Recreation Advisory Committee that will advise on public-private partnerships on all public lands with the goal, according to a statement, of "expanding access and improving infrastructure". It's also signed by eight others on the 12-member board.

Knowles said that the decision to junk the order involved no public process and that it would have made sense to first reach out to the board because of its long work on the policy: "We had strongly supported it, but these things were just done, so these were the disappointments we had". "Secretary Zinke has said that local input is important for BLM to consider, and yet these councils, which provide just such input, have been sidelined".

Others, including the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science and another conservation panel, were dissolved, the Washington Post reported.

"I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside", the letter said.

The board is required to meet twice a year but has not come together since Trump took office in January 2017.

Even without the resignations, Zinke would have had to select new board members this year as all but one of the 12 members' terms were set to expire in May.

"With all of the issues facing our National Park System, from a more than $11 billion maintenance backlog to budget cuts and staffing issues, this is the very time the Advisory Board should be consulted", she said.

"The appointment of two of the individuals who claim to be resigning had already expired in July and November, and they did not seek reappointment", Swift added in her statement.

Todd Willens, associate deputy secretary of the department, brought up investigations that uncovered sexual harassment at national parks such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and an internal investigative report of a guidebook written by former National Park Service leader Jonathan Jarvis.

"It's typical for this administration to defend itself with half-truths", Faustinos said on Wednesday.

Share

Related Articles

Despite his recent suspension, Stokes has been named in the International Cricket Council's Test and one-day teams of the year. On the same day, England play New Zealand in a T20 in Wellington, their first game in a tri-series also involving Australia .

The impact of the drought has been exacerbated by the fact that Cape Town's population has nearly doubled over the past 20 years. This, as detailed plans for the "eventuality" of the City's Day Zero contingency plans will be released next week.

The Hill has reached out to the RNC to clarify whether the political portion of the trip will be reimbursed. The Democratic candidate in the March 13 election is Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran and former USA attorney.

The bureau has provided Americans with billions of dollars in refunds and debt relief, often at banks' expense. It also played a key role in penalizing Wells Fargo & Co. for its creation of unauthorized accounts.

According to Ciuffardi, Francis told them what happened "was historic", because "never has a Pope married a couple on a plane". Podest said she and Ciuffardi had also explained to Francis that when they first started dating, she was his boss at LATAM.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Turkey meeting had no legitimate Taliban representatives in attendance. Haley told reporters at United Nations headquarters, "They feel confident that the Taliban will be coming to the table".

The New York Times said Mr Mueller had summoned Mr Bannon last week, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The White House replied and told Bannon's lawyer which questions he should and shouldn't respond to .

Police, soldiers and volunteers used shovels to dig through mud and debris as they searched for bodies in the village of Dalama. In 2013, around 8,000 people were killed and 200,000 families left homeless after super typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines .

Following the Morgan Stanley Q4 2017 earnings release, the firm's stock rose by about 2% to as high as $56.40 in premarket trades. Gorman became exasperated at one point, responding, "Oh my God", before going through his rationale again.

DHS to block Haitians from temporary visas
Within a three-month period, they went through 300 people for eight positions, he said. "These guys were awesome". Other visas require more education or other skills, and Haitians often don't qualify for family-sponsored visas.

Microsoft Reportedly Working on New Xbox Elite Controller
Microsoft could potentially unveil the new Xbox Elite controller at the Game Developers Conference in March or E3 in June. The original came out in 2015, but new photos have surfaced on Chinese website Baidu showing the possible new design.

Detroit Lions mock draft 2018: Mel Kiper picks a pass rusher
If the Bolts want Philip Rivers to stick around for a few more years and play at a high level, they'll need to keep him healthy. Peter's Prep in 2015 before putting together a brilliant three-year career at Alabama, where he started as a true freshman.